​Today, the Nationwide Committee for Elderly Health is promoting the achievement of good and robust health through the practice of Daoist self-cultivation. The Qianfeng Prenatal School was founded by Zhao Bichen and is continued today by his great grandson – Zhao Ming Wang – who is the third generation inheritor of the Zhao Family Lineage. The Qianfeng practice of external power-building self-cultivation is thought to be of particular interest (to the elderly practitioner).

The Nationwide Committee for Elderly Health is promoting through ample government funding to pursue a universal approach to ensuring the health of the country (China). This is an important topic in today’s society as over the last decade it has become apparent that there has been a marked increase in age-related ailments, and cardiovascular diseases. Although the State has invested many resources to combat this problem, the outlook is not currently optimistic due to the fact that these problems are recognised as being caused by individual choices and not government policy. What is required is that individuals understand how to prevent diseases by pursuing a Daoist health regime that builds robust health and prolongs life expectancy through cultivating vital force (qi energy), and essential nature (jing), as a means to balance yin and yang.

Daoist Self-cultivation has eighteen steps to achieve a robust health and long life that can be helpful to elderly people that are premised upon martial arts practice. This is because Zhao Bichen – the Founder of the Qianfeng Prenatal School – was not only an advanced Daoist, but also a very accomplished martial artist. For instance, the elderly can benefit from the practice of Taiji (太极) as this martial system transports vital force (qi) and blood flow throughout the entire body. This has the beneficial effect of eradicating the causes of illness from within the body through regular practice. Although Taiji is common knowledge today, in the past exact knowledge of how to use it for Daoist health-building reasons was difficult to acquire. Taiji is an internal martial art (that builds inner health and outer robustness) which emphasises the slow and co-ordinated performance of exact and specific body shapes (that include open and closed hand techniques, kicking, punching, blocking and evasion). This steady and slow performance of the Taiji postures ensures that vital force (qi) intake and circulation throughout the body is strengthened, and that as a consequence, the essential nature (jing) becomes robust. Although beneficial to people of all ages, the Taiji exercise is particularly suitable for elderly practitioners as a means of building health and preventing diseases from taking root within the body.